Matan’s JetSet Family of Grand-Format, Solvent Printers

Not so many years ago, large-format digital printing was somewhat of a niche. For approximately $16,000, you could own a four-color, 300-dpi printer that could do a fairly good job of near-photographic images. These printers used the same waterbased inks found in desktop printers, so the images weren’t water resistant and didn’t hold up well in direct sunlight. If you wanted a raster image processor, then you would spend an additional $5,000 to $6,000. Oh, and by the way, your maximum image width would be 36 in.

Fast forward to today, and the same $15,000 to $16,000 will buy you a 60-in., six- or eight-color printer that uses inks formulated to resist UV light and, depending upon the media, can resist water. For another $5,000 or $6,000, you can move up to a solvent-based printer that will produce photographic-quality images that will last two to three years outdoors without lamination.

Formerly, two or three companies offered digital printers, but it now seems there are dozens. An area now opened to a wider audience is grand-format printing. These printers can produce images that exceed 6 or 7 ft. in width. They are used to produce billboards, tradeshow graphics and theatrical backgrounds, to name a few applications.

Two years ago, a grand-format printer would set you back $250,000 or more. Of course, for that kind of money, you received a device that was fast and fairly economical to operate. Still, the printers addressed niche markets, and only the really big guys could play.

Now, you can purchase a grand-format printer for under $100,000. Although this is still a lot of money, it now opens the door to the medium-sized shop that’s looking to expand into new markets. However, you still need to produce prints at a decent speed, and at a cost that keeps you competitive.

Here’s an area where the low cost” grand-format printers have suffered. In general, these new printers are basically the same printers as the $21,000 models, with the exception of extra-wide platens.

In most cases, they use the same 250- or 500ml ink cartridges used on the smaller printers. You can get your foot in the door, but the operational costs may make the undertaking economically unfeasible.

There’s a new player in town that may have just the answer. Matan’s JetSet line of grand-format printers features solvent machines that are available in either 8- or 10- ft. widths, with ink prices that are hard to believe.

Specifications

The JetSet 2.5i is 14.27 ft. wide, 2.72 ft. long and 4.75 ft. tall. It weighs more than 2,000 lbs. The JetSet 3.2i is 16.5 ft. long with the same length and height as the 2.5i. It weighs 2,700 lbs.

The marking system, based on Hitachi printheads, features 96 nozzles (per head) with a 300-dpi resolution. Using a six-color printing system, the images’ apparent resolution is 600 dpi. For the type of work the JetSet is designed to do, this is sufficient resolution. Images are crisp and bright (Fig. 1) and look great close up or from a distance.

The JetSet i line has two models. The JetSet 2.5i can produce an image 8 ft. wide (2.5 meters, hence the name). This is approximately 96 in., which puts the JetSet 2.5i on the short end of the grand-format printing scale. The bigger brother in the product line is the JetSet 3.2i. This printer will output 10-ft.-wide images (3.2 meters), and it has no problem claiming membership in the grand-format club.

Both printers use six colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan and light magenta (CMYKlclm), to produce an image. The inks used by the printer are true solvents that Matan deems high durability. Depending upon the media, Matan claims up to three-year outdoor durability.

The ink, produced by Matan, is one area in which the JetSet printers differentiate themselves from the competition. Rather than purchasing ink in 220ml or 500ml cartridges, the ink comes in 3L bottles. Matan designed these printers to work in a high-volume, continuous environment.

Matan lists certified media on their website. Various papers, vinyl, textiles, banner and mesh products have been certified. In most cases, an ICC color profile is included with the media’s description.

The super-heavy-duty media-handling system is designed to handle large rolls of media. It can also accommodate multi-roll printing (Fig. 2) and backlit media.

Although the existing media-handling features are good, Matan also offers an optional media-handling system that can accommodate jumbo rolls of media and extra-thick media. They also offer an optional media-collection system that will take up the printed media on a reel.

As solvent machines, the printers come with a drying and heater system that ensures the prints are dry after imaging (Fig. 3). The system is user configurable. It also features an extended heating and drying system that allows the printer to crank out images.

The need for speed

To justify a grand-format printer purchase, you need to sell many prints. Your shop can possess a major advantage by turning jobs around quickly. Often, the printer itself can be the bottleneck.

You don’t have to worry with the JetSet printers. These beasts can generate prints at a blistering 699 sq. ft./hr. for the JetSet 2.5i and at an even more phenomenal 785 sq. ft./hr. for the JetSet 3.2i. That equates to more than 130, 2 3 3-ft. prints per hour. This is why Matan has offered the media-handling, drying, and take-up options. At these kinds of speeds, you don’t want operator intervention to be the bottleneck.

Costs

We’ve left out a few details that may convince you that the JetSet printers are a real bargain. Let’s go back to ink cost. We told you that ink came in 3L bottles. Well, ink cost is only $45 per liter. That is a fraction of the cartridge ink prices found on other economy grand-format printers.

The printers themselves have a very sweet price as well. The JetSet 2.5i runs $79,999. This is very competitive with most of the low-cost, grand-format printers. The JetSet 3.2i is $99,999. So, for under $100,000, your printer can generate 10-ft.-wide prints at a speed of 785 sq. ft./hr. The price of the machines includes Scanvec Amiable RIP software. It’s a turnkey system.

Matan has entered the grand-format-printer arena with a bang. Its two solvent printers address the speed and image-cost concerns that anyone faces when choosing a printer. The initial cost of the printer is in the ballpark with the new low-cost, grand-format printers, but Matan’s machines are built more like the industrial models.